Public Houses

In Wentworth itself, the George and Dragon and Rockingham Arms pubs are justifiably popular (and usually very busy!). Both serve a wide range of food and drink. The “George” is a particular favourite of real ale enthusiasts and recently won the local CAMRA Pub of the Year award; we recommend the award-winning WPA (“woppa”) produced by Wentworth’s own village brewery!

Nearby, you might also like to try the recently-refurbished Horseshoe at Harley, the Bay Horse at Scholes, the Norfolk Arms near Hood Hill (very popular for its food) or the Commercial in Chapeltown (another good real ale pub).

Restaurants & Cafes

There is only one restaurant in the village, Le Bistro, which opens most lunchtimes and evenings and serves an excellent range of food at very reasonable prices. Be sure to book in advance, especially at weekends!

For lighter meals and snacks there are cafes at the Garden Centre and at the Arts, Crafts and Antiques centre in the Old Building Yard. Refreshments are sometimes also available at the Mechanics Institute when it is open for events.

Nearby Restaurants

There are a number of good restaurants nearby, including the Greenhead House at Chapeltown, the restaurants attached the Whitley Hall and Tankersley Manor hotels and, a little further afield, the Olde Mustard Pot in Midhopestones. Alternatively, take a trip into the centre of Sheffield for a wide selection of restaurants to suit all tastes.

Elsecar has close historic ties with Wentworth, having been the location of many of the Fitzwilliam family’s early industrial ventures. Although now built up and merged with the nearby town of Hoyland, Elsecar still retains a number of rows of attractive stone-built cottages originally put up by the Fitzwilliams for their workers, along with Milton Hall (originally built by the 6th Earl to house an industrial exhibition in 1886).

Elsecar Heritage Centre

A permanent reminder of the Fitwilliams’ influence on the village lives on today in the justly popular Elsecar Heritage Centre. The centre is housed in former industrial buildings and features a number of permanent exhibitions includng the Elsecar Steam Railway (which starts from what was once the Fitwilliam’s own private railway station), a preserved Newcomen Beam Engine and a Living History Centre. There are also regular events such as Classic Car weekends and Thomas the Tank Engine days.

The heritage centre is about 1 mile from Wentworth village and is clearly signposted from the M1. By train it is a short walk down the hill from Elsecar station.

Elsecar Park and Reservoir

Elsecar also has a very fine park, built in the traditional style with a bandstand and childrens playground. The park also has a nine hole pitch-and-putt course.

Adjacent to the park is Elsecar reservoir, originally built to service the Dearne and Dove Canal which runs from near the Heritage Centre. The reservoir is now used partly by local anglers and partly as a nature reserve. Pictures in the Heritage Centre show that the “beach” on the reservoir was once a popular spot for local day trips!

Elsecar Web Link

For more comprehensive and up to date coverage of everything in Elsecar we recommend elsecar.org.uk.

For visitors, there are plenty of things to see and do in the Wentworth area. Here are just a few suggestions.

Wentworth Park

The public rights of way through Wentworth Park have always been popular with local walkers. The highlight is the magnificent East Front of Wentworth Woodhouse (the widest house in the country!) with its equally grand stable block, but there are plenty of other buildings and sights of interest in the park. These include the famous follies of Hoober Stand, the Needles Eye, Keppel’s Column and the Mausoleum, plus lesser known features such as the Doric and Ionic Temples. The lakes in the park are also worth a visit and are very popular with local anglers (fishing licenses are available from the Estate Office).

Village

Wentworth village itself is of considerable historical interest. The well preserved estate cottages along Main Street were built in an ad hoc fashion from the early 17th century onwards and have a charm of their own. The Old and New Churches are also worth a visit. You might also find events being held in the Mechanics Institute or in the Barn at the Rockingham Arms.

Shopping

For a small village, Wentworth has a very wide range of shops and businesses, all of which are popular with visitors. The Garden Centre is perhaps the best known attraction; built on the site of the old Wentworth Woodhouse kitchen gardens , the complex also includes a number of craft shops and a children’s farm.

Elsewhere, there are a number of shops in the old Building Yard area near the entrance to Wentworth Park; these include the relatively new Arts, Crafts and Antiques centre, plus a number of craft outlets.

In the village itself, you will find the Village Shop, Post Office, Little Gallery, a hairdresser, wine merchant and number of smaller craft shops near the George and Dragon pub. See our Business Directory for further details.

Nearby Attractions

A mile or so from Wentworth, the former estate village of Elsecar has a number of attractions, notably the popular Heritage Centre which has a number of permanent exhibitions and craft shops, as well as a preserved steam railway. A walk in the countryside around the village can be a pleasant way to spend a few hours and may bring you to charming outlying hamlets such as Street, Lea Brook and Hood Hill. Finally, for those who can’t resist shopping, there is of course the Meadowhall centre, one junction down the motorway!